Hollywood Casino

Hollywood Casino Hotel & Raceway in Bangor, Maine, is a major entertainment destination operated by Penn Entertainment. For years, the casino served the region with slot machines and harness racing—but by 2011, its future hinged on one pivotal question: could it offer table games?

How We Helped Hollywood Casino Win a Countywide Ballot and a Statewide Precedent

Challenges Faced

A new competitor, Oxford Casino, had just been approved in western Maine through a statewide ballot initiative. Oxford Casino was approved as a full-fledged casino, meaning it could have table games. Hollywood couldn’t match the experience—and without parity, it risked losing patrons, revenue, and relevance.

The solution seemed simple: add table games in Bangor. But getting there was anything but easy.

Hollywood’s expansion required voter approval through a countywide ballot initiative—a high-stakes campaign that would unfold under public scrutiny. The team faced early polling that showed a challenge for passage, a skeptical public wary of gambling expansion, and a compressed timeline to shift perception and secure a win.The challenge was clear: reframe the debate, rally the region, and win at the polls.

Objective

• Secure public approval for table games via a Penobscot County referendum
• Position the issue as one of fairness and local economic impact, not gambling expansion
• Mobilize a broad coalition of supporters from the business, nonprofit, and civic sectors
• Educate voters on the economic benefits Hollywood Casino has already provided to the region

The Strategy

We treated this campaign like a full-scale political race—because that’s what it was.Our central message was simple and sticky:

“If Oxford has table games, Bangor should too.”

This equity-focused narrative became the foundation for a campaign that was fast-moving, multi-channel, and deeply community-centered.

We built a speaker’s bureau led by Hollywood’s general manager and amplified it with respected voices across business, government, and agriculture. From Rotary and Kiwanis to Chambers of Commerce meetings and town forums, we made the case face to face—dozens of times.

We combined grassroots visibility (canvassing, door hangers, and a powerful visual map showing how far employees commuted from across Penobscot County) with mass media (radio, TV, social media, and direct mail) to reinforce the region-wide benefits.We didn’t shy away from the tough questions. We led with transparency and focused on what the public cared about: jobs, fairness, and the future of a community institution.